Packaging is big bucks. Don’t believe me?
Hans Rausing, the Tetra Pak heir is 11th on the UK Sunday Times Rich List, worth an estimated USD$12.3 billion. It just goes to show how valuable this industry is.
The humble soda can? This has been shrunk by 6 mm since the 1960s … that small design change results in savings of 90 million kilograms of aluminum per year. This shows how good packaging design can result in huge cash savings.
So needless to say, simulation of packaging design and manufacturing can yield great returns.
And for this reason, simulation giant Altair and packaging behemoth PTIS have announced a CAE partnership, so they can continue to optimize packaging development and allow companies to stay at the forefront of packaging design. The partnership will not focus on developing new software (at the moment) but will instead focus on consultation from Altair, who will use its vast experience with the HyperWorks platform in combination with PTIS’ Integrated Packaging Value Model to help bring packaging design into Industry 4.0.
“The search for new innovation plays a central role for companies with plans to stay at the forefront of packaging design,” said Anthony Norton, executive vice president, Altair Product Design, Americas. “We work with companies across the world to help achieve their product development objectives through a blend of design creativity and in-depth engineering expertise. Our collaboration with PTIS will increase opportunities to enhance customer and consumer experiences, drive technology integration and identify sustainable improvements across the value chain.”
The goals of the partnership are as follows:
- Develop package design to anticipate users’ needs as opposed to reacting to them
- Optimize the manufacturing process for more efficient production
- Map out the distribution environment and supply chain to improve product delivery
- Assess user experiences in augmented, virtual and authentic realities
“We see an opportunity to deliver a joint offering with Altair through our consulting programs, which inevitably expose customers to the HyperWorks platform,” said Brian Wagner, co-founder and principle at PTIS, LLC. “Altair can work with our clients to train them on the software, or take on the package development project entirely, to help us all achieve a common goal. We believe that leveraging these capabilities will deliver a greater range of options, efficiency and speed to market.”
More efficient package design can result in less material waste, sturdier packaging and better storage of packaging. The latter means that more efficient transportation of goods can be achieved, and that in turn means less fuel and less emissions can be created by transportation.
And that’s a good thing for the world. Hurrah!